The Villainous Princess Wants to Live in a Gingerbread House - Chapter 57

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Villainess Imperial Heir Wants to Live in a Pastry Shop
57

“B-but Asha came to the Imperial Palace because of a cousin.”
“That’s right. A cousin. Imperial Heir Alexei is her cousin, isn’t he…….”
“……!”
Arten’s face went pale, just like the other musicians around him.

* * *

After exchanging greetings with the harpist in the corridor, the Young Princess headed for the kitchen. She opened the kitchen door, placed her hands on her hips, and drew in a long, deliberate breath before releasing it.
“Pavel! If you name my cake, you have to tell me about it—no, you should have asked me first!”
“I…….”
“I thought something terrible was happening today!”
Before the Young Princess stood a man whose frame was perhaps three times her own, now hunching his shoulders as if to make himself smaller. Pavel, who had heard the dizzying account from the banquet, wore the expression of someone with nothing to say even if he had ten mouths. Watching his face, the Young Princess waved her hand.
“No…… wait. I’m not angry at you, Pavel. The Head Chef said he’d be the one to name it, right? That’s how it is?”
Yet after a brief moment of composure, the small girl spoke in a tone that suggested ‘My good child wouldn’t do such a thing—he must have fallen in with a bad influence,’ and Pavel found he had no choice but to offer some kind of response.
Even if he didn’t care much for Fiord, the Head Chef, he couldn’t let him bear an innocent blame.
“N-no, it’s not that…….”
“It’s not?”
“To be…… to be honest…… I should tell you the truth…….”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The thing is, I was worried that perhaps His Highness might name it something like ‘Asha’s Carrot Cake,’ so I just told the Head Chef to handle it as he saw fit…….”
“……!”
The Young Princess opened her eyes wide in astonishment, but could muster no further anger. She had remembered the pretext.
“I…….”
“…….”
“…….”
An awkward silence settled between them.
“……well, at…… any rate, things worked out fine, so that’s…… that’s good enough, isn’t it…….”
“I’m truly sorry…….”
“It’s all right. That’s enough. We have work to do anyway.”
Asha waved her hand dismissively and rolled up her sleeves.
“W-what will you be doing?”
“I’m going to write out the recipe and take it with me. While I’m at it, I’ll brew some milk tea too.”
“For…… whom?”
“For whom else? For those Noctis Elves. And since I’m brewing milk tea, I’ll need milk…….”
“You don’t mean to give them the carrot cake recipe?”
“Should I give them the chocolate cake recipe instead? And I’m planning to brew strawberry milk tea…….”
“Neither of those is acceptable!”
Pavel cried out with an insistence that would have been unbelievable from someone so meek just moments before. Asha actually flinched at the force of it. For now, she decided to set aside the milk tea question.
“Hmm, it’s not all right?”
“You’d be giving away a recipe worth its weight in gold for nothing!”
“It’s not really that exceptional a recipe……. The carrot cake—honestly, anyone’s been making it for ages.”
“It’s not just any carrot cake!”
“W-well, yes…… thank you for the compliment…….”
“But why would you want to give it away? Did they even ask for it?”
“Well, they didn’t exactly ask, but they wanted to so badly, you could tell? If one cake could end the war completely, I thought it might be worth giving up?”
Asha touched her cheek as she said this. Pavel’s jaw looked ready to fall to the floor. Asha quickly continued.
“Of course, any relationship can fray if something triggers it, but even so, the elves—they seem to believe we worked hard to make that carrot cake, and they really did say it was delicious. So if we shared the recipe, then maybe we could…… become friendlier with each other……. Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t have war?”
Asha fidgeted with her hands as she spoke, and suddenly became aware of how naive her words sounded, but Pavel—already looking as though he might weep—offered her no opportunity to recant.
“And s-since I’m here anyway, I’d like to brew what I’ll call ‘Anti-War Milk Tea,’ so…… could you please just give me the milk?”
A long, drawn-out sigh.

First, she fills the pot generously with black tea leaves infused with strawberry fragrance, then pours in just enough water to barely cover them before bringing it to a rolling boil. Once the leaves swell and absorb the liquid, she adds coconut milk and heats it only until delicate wisps of steam rise. A single pinch of sugar—that’s all.
And so the strawberry milk tea without dairy milk was complete.
“It’s getting late—you should head back soon.”
Lis, who had long since given up trying to join in Asha’s kitchen games, followed quietly behind her and spoke. On the tray in Lis’s hands sat a teapot of warm milk tea, strawberry jam, and a small notebook where Asha had written out the recipe for the carrot cake “Lumen Basilice.”
“Right. No need for a long explanation.”
Asha had arranged this secret meeting because, after speaking with Pibi, she’d reached the conclusion that she couldn’t simply let the elves leave as things stood.
She didn’t possess the power or ability to protect the world, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that they harbored the intention to divide the Spirit Realm and the human world once more.
‘At least I can track them if something goes wrong.’
When Kalno had mentioned that the Noctis Elves had enjoyed the dessert so much they wanted to know the recipe, Asha had nearly turned a cartwheel on the spot from pure joy—though she’d failed to actually manage it.
Asha took a breath, then lifted her hand and knocked directly on the door of the quarters assigned to the Noctis Elves.
Rilmari and Ahti, who were in the room, seemed somewhat taken aback by Asha’s sudden visit at such a late hour, but they welcomed her without hesitation.
“Your Highness? Should you not be resting at this hour?”
“I came because I wanted to give you something. It’ll only take a moment!”
“What is it……?”
Asha first produced the notebook she’d brought.
“Kalno told me you enjoyed the cake. This is the recipe for it.”
“……!”
Rilmari opened the notebook and her expression shifted to one of surprise. As Asha watched the glittering crystals that shimmered into being behind Rilmari, she steadied her resolve. Beside her, Lis poured the warm milk tea from the teapot into cups.
“This is Strawberry Milk Tea that I brewed myself. Since it’s made with coconut milk, you don’t need to worry about the Noctius Taboo.”
Asha spooned a teaspoon of strawberry jam into the cup. The jam, red and translucent as a jewel, dissolved softly into the tea and spread throughout.
Rilmari smiled gently, as if indulging a child’s antics, and readily reached for the cup.
“What a delightfully nutty aroma…… and this sweet strawberry scent is quite striking.”
“The strawberry jam was made by the Head Chef himself. Would you like me to give you some of that as well?”
A noticeably warmer current of air flowed behind Rilmari. When Asha offered a cup to Ahti as well, the elf seemed reluctant, but she couldn’t refuse and took the cup.
‘Go on, drink it, drink it!’
Asha murmured earnestly to herself, glancing sidelong at Ahti.
She hadn’t poisoned the milk tea. To do such a thing would render meaningless all the blood spilled by Kalno, Alexei, the Empire’s forces, and the elves themselves.
‘That’s right, she’s drinking it well.’
Asha gave herself a silent round of applause. What Asha had put into the milk tea was nothing other than her sincerity itself.
Pibi could only exercise power through Asha, and the strength flowed from her fingertips, but Asha had never truly felt it. So all she could do was prepare it with all her care.
Fortunately, Pibi said the milk tea held sufficient power. Now, anyone who consumed Asha’s cooking would be able to sense, to some degree, what Pibi was doing whenever she wished.
‘I wish it had been enough just to eat the carrot cake.’
Creating the cake “Lumen Basilice” had required no small amount of devotion either. But according to Pibi, that cake had been made together with Pavel, and besides, the amount they’d eaten wasn’t enough to track them all the way to the north.
“It makes us uncomfortable to only receive from Your Highness.”
Seeing the two of them sip the milk tea, Asha felt her tension melt away.
‘Now what do I say to leave?’
“Oh, well, if that’s the case! If I ever have reason to visit Ub Whisun, would you show me around?”
Would the Empire’s Imperial Heir ever have reason to visit Ub Whisun, where the Noctis Elves dwelled? It was merely polite conversation. Yet at Asha’s words, Rilmari, who had been savoring her milk tea, set down her cup with a gentle expression.
“Should you come, we would welcome you with joy. It may not be a banquet such as the one you’ve prepared for us today, but we shall hold a celebration.”
Rilmari spoke thus and rose briefly, saying she had something to fetch. What she brought was a modest, small box—wrapped simply with a narrow strip of plain cloth.
“What is this?”
“In truth, I brought it intending to give it to Your Highness from the start, but I thought it too humble, so I set it aside…… and now that I’ve received so much, I cannot help but present it.”
“May I open it?”
Rilmari nodded. As Asha untied the ribbon, a pair of small ear muffs came into view.
“……!”
They were shaped like small deer ears, lined inside with soft cream-colored fur, while the outer surface was adorned with delicate geometric embroidery. At a glance, they were clearly the work of skilled hands.
“The north is quite cold. Here, it’s early spring now, but it will still be chilly, so I prepared this as a gift…… though I’m told the Imperial Palace is never cold even in winter.”
“Yes, it’s rather warm, isn’t it? Because of Pafnir.”
“So it seems.”
“But starting next winter, it will be cold again, so I think I’ll be able to use these very well.”
“Next winter…… will it be cold?”
As Asha placed the ear muffs on her own ears, she looked at the questioning Ahti and smiled slightly.
“This year has been like this because Alexei—the Crown Prince, that is—has been adapting to the Spirit. Now that’s complete.”
“I see. We sincerely congratulate the Empire on this fortunate occasion.”
It was Rilmari who offered congratulations with a smiling face. Ahti’s expression had grown noticeably darker.
Asha thanked Rilmari several more times for the ear muffs, then rose from her seat. The elves saw her off, each wearing a different expression.

* * *

Several days later, the peace accord with the Noctis Elves was concluded smoothly. The elves departed, leaving two fiefs in the Empire as per the Non-Aggression Pact. On the day of their departure, Rilmari locked eyes with Asha for a brief moment before turning away.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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